How To Make Cherry Popsicles at Home

Homemade cherry popsicles are a great way to enjoy a homemade sweet treat while cooling down in the summer with real fruit!

Making Homemade Popsicles

Popsicles are a delicious and often a nostalgic treat to enjoy in the summer time. The addition of a good quality yogurt adds some much needed nutrition to a classic treat.

Homemade vs Store Bought Popsicles

Making your own homemade popsicles may seem intimidating and difficult. However, once you see how easy and delicious they are, you might never go back to buying them from the store!

Not only are these popsicles more delicious with the REAL fruit and whole food ingredients, they only use a few ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen. When you look at the complicated ingredient list of a store bought version, you’ll surely be convinced that these homemade popsicles are the best, more simple option for you and your family. 

Looking for more recipe inspiration for summer time treats? You might also enjoy this Homemade Cherry Ice Cream or this Classic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Ingredients For Homemade Cherry Popsicles

Cherries

Since these popsicles are going to be cherry flavored, you will of course need cherries! If cherries are in season, you can certainly use fresh cherries. However, if your household is like mine, fresh berries tend to be a hot commodity and get eaten pretty quickly. In that case, frozen cherries will still work great in this recipe. In fact, I often use frozen berries in popsicles and ice cream because it’s what I have available. 

Lemon Juice

While fresh lemons are a great way to get fresh lemon flavor, peak citrus season is in the winter and popsicle season is in the summer! Using bottled lemon juice also saves time. When making these cherry popsicles, I recommend using bottled lemon juice to save time and money.

Sweetener

While it isn’t completely necessary to add extra sweetener to your homemade popsicles, it does add to the overall flavor of the treat. This is especially important if you or your family are JUST making the transition from store bought treats to homemade treats. Over time, you can adjust the level of sweetness to be less or more depending on your preferences. 

If you enjoy this occasional treat with some extra sweetener, I suggest using a less refined sweetener. This recipe calls for using raw cane sugar. However my favorite sweetener is Maple syrup due to its ability to easily incorporate into most mixtures. 

Other sweeteners you could use include honey or unrefined cane sugar. If you like to use any kind of granulated sugar alternatives (such as coconut, maple, date or turbinado), you can also use them here. Depending on your sweetness preference and the kind of sweetener you use, you may need to adjust the sweetener amount. 

How to Store Homemade Cherry Popsicles

To keep the best possible texture, these popsicles are best stored in the freezer until you want to enjoy them. Since popsicle molds only have a few compartments, it’s usually easiest to just keep them in the mold until they’re all gone. If you’re using single use plastic popsicles bags, I recommend making a dedicated spot in your freezer to store this delicious treat!

The Shelflife of Homemade Cherry Popsicles

As with just about anything homemade with real food ingredients, the shelf life of these treats are much shorter than store bought versions. If stored in a chest freezer that stays consistently really cold, these popsicles will stay fresh and tasty for 3-6 months. However, you and your family will likely finish them off well before that time has passed. 

Ingredients and Tools

PIN IT

1 cup Cane Sugar (or sugar equivalent sweetener)

2 Cups Cherries

3 1/2 cups Filtered water 

2 TBSP Lemon Juice

A medium saucepan

Measuring cups and spoons

A large pitcher or glass jar

A whisk or spoon

An immersion blender

Disposable popsicle bags or A popsicle mold

Directions

To begin, add 1 cup of filtered water and 1 ½ cups sugar in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

Bring the sugar mixture to a light boil. 

Add the cherries to the pan and mash until all large pieces are gone. 

PIN IT

Remove from the heat. Set aside until completely cool. 

If you don’t want any cherry pulp in your popsicles, you’ll need to strain the cherry syrup. Once cool, strain the cherry pulp from the simple syrup by pouring the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.

While the cherry simple syrup is cooling, combine lemon juice and remaining 3 cups of filtered water into a pitcher or large glass jar.

Once the cherry pulp is strained from the syrup, add the cherry simple syrup to the pitcher or container, stir and add mixture into each compartment of your popsicle mold. 

Place popsicles on a flat surface in your freezer until solid. 

Once the popsicles are solid, they are ready to be enjoyed! 

Cherry Popsicles FAQ:

Why Make Homemade Popsicles?

Making your own homemade popsicles may seem intimidating and difficult. However, once you see how easy and delicious they are, you might never go back to buying them from the store!

Not only are these popsicles more delicious with the REAL fruit and whole food ingredients, they only use a few ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. When you look at the complicated ingredient list of a store bought version, you’ll surely be convinced that these homemade popsicles are the best and more simple option for you and your family. 

Should I Use Fresh Or Frozen Cherries?

Since these popsicles are going to be cherry flavored, you will of course need cherries! If cherries are in season, you can certainly use fresh cherries. However, if your household is like mine, fresh berries tend to be a hot commodity and get eaten pretty quickly. In that case, frozen cherries will still work great in this recipe. In fact, I often use frozen berries in popsicles and ice cream because it’s what I have available. You can use either fresh or frozen berries!

Does This Recipe Really Need Lemon Juice?

While fresh lemons are a great way to get fresh lemon flavor, peak citrus season is in the winter and popsicle season is in the summer! When making these cherry popsicles, I recommend using bottled lemon juice to save time and money.

What Kind Of Sweetener Should I Use For Homemade Popsicles?

While it isn’t completely necessary to add extra sweetener to your homemade popsicles, it does add to the overall flavor of the treat. This is especially important if you or your family are JUST making the transition from store bought treats to homemade treats. Over time, you can adjust the level of sweetness to be less or more depending on your preferences. 

If you enjoy this occasional treat with some extra sweetener, I suggest using a less refined sweetener. This recipe calls for using raw cane sugar. However my favorite sweetener is Maple syrup due to its ability to easily incorporate into most mixtures. Other sweeteners you could use include honey or unrefined cane sugar. If you like to use any kind of granulated sugar alternatives (such as coconut, maple, date or turbinado), you can also use them here. Depending on your sweetness preference and the kind of sweetener you use, you may need to adjust the sweetener amount.

How Do I Store Homemade Cherry Popsicles?

To keep the best possible texture, these popsicles are best stored in the freezer until you want to enjoy them. Since popsicle molds only have a few compartments, it’s usually easiest to just keep them in the mold until they’re all gone.

What’s The Shelflife of Homemade Cherry Popsicles?

As with just about anything homemade with real food ingredients, the shelflife of these treats are much shorter than store bought versions. If stored in a chest freezer that stays really cold, these popsicles will stay fresh and tasty for 3-6 months. However, you and your family will likely finish them off well before that time has passed. 

Did you try this? Share your creations in the comments or by tagging @MissysHomestead on Instagram.